Monday, February 26, 2018

I have the pleasure of a guest post by author Brooklyn Ann, who shares the answer to my question...

ELF: What is one of your hobbies and how has it enriched your writing?

BA: I like to work on cars. Yes, cars. As in being
my own mechanic. My interest began as a necessity since I had been too poor to
take my car into a mechanic’s shop, so I had to fix it myself. When my first
car died and people mocked me for thinking I could bring her back, it only made
me more determined to prove them wrong. Necessity is the mother of invention –
my photo is next to that saying. I rebuilt the engine and suspension of my
beloved Datsun, and the car took me to college, where I got my degree in
automotive technology. I worked as a mechanic for a couple years before I
injured my shoulders and decided to go back to college to get my English degree
and focus on my writing.

I still work on cars when I have the time and my
experience turning wrenches has definitely enriched my work. There’s a subplot
in With Vengeance (Hearts of Metal book 2) where the heroine’s ex sabotages her
car and she and the hero bond as they fix it. Research is great, and I
recommend it to everyone, but there’s nothing like the real thing – knowing how
to fix a car put flow into writing those scenes, which made the characters’ interactions
more intimate and realistic.

Alas, there isn’t much car stuff happening in Forbidden Song, the newest installment in the series, but my love for classic
cars will reappear in the next novel in the Hearts of Metal series.

After
having one of the worst experiences a young teenager could endure at the hands
of cruel musicians, Christine Mayne's rock star brother Quinn tried to lock her
away from the world. She had to fight to live her life, go to college, get her
master's and enter her PhD program. Now, she's determined to complete her
research on group dynamics by touring with Bleeding Vengeance, even it means
deceiving her brother and lying to the band's fabulous lead singer, Cliff
Tracey.

Cliff Tracey hates being manipulated, lied to
and deceived. He'd know, having gone through a string of exes who had done just
that. When he thinks he's found a kindred spirit, and a beautiful babe to boot,
imagine his surprise - and disappointment - when he learns she played him so
she can tour with his band to complete her PhD. When he finds out why, he knows
he's in double trouble because Quinn Mayne will kill anyone who touches his
sister, and Cliff Tracey has all sorts of plans for Christine Mayne that
involves more than either of them ever expected.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

Weaving his way through the backstage crowd, pausing to sign
autographs along the way, he embarked on his search for the raven-haired
beauty.

Luck shone upon him. There she was, off in a corner by the
stage left exit. Alone.

She looked up at him and smiled with an intriguing
combination of shyness and curiosity. Oh, man. Those green eyes.

He gathered his formidable charm and grinned as he
approached. “Hey, are you the new girl Kat and Kin hired?”

She nodded with a slight frown and extended her hand. Fuck.
He remembered Kat telling him to quit calling women girls.

“I’m Christine.”

“Cliff Tracey.” He gave her a long, slow smile, and was
gratified to see her blush. Good, now he was back on the right track.

His fingers curled around hers. Damn, her skin was soft. No
calluses, so she likely wasn’t a musician.

A light laugh tumbled from her lips. “I know. I really
enjoyed your performance tonight. Your voice is incredible, and that solo
during ‘Sorrow’s Harvest’ gave me chills. In fact, I’d wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh?” He kept his tone light and teasing to hide his
excitement. She’d admired his performance. That was usually the first thing
chicks said before the flirting began. Maybe he’d mistaken what he’d thought
was lack of interest earlier. “About my solo?”

“No, though I’ll admit your talent does blow my mind.” She
took a deep breath as if gathering her composure for some big announcement.
“Aside from writing for Metalness, I’m working on my doctorate in occupational
psychology and could use your help for my dissertation.”

Cliff blinked. “Oh. Uh…I only got as far as my associate’s,
so I don’t know how much good I’d be. What’s the topic of your paper?”

“I’m studying the effects of group dynamics within metal
bands under high stress conditions.” Her clinical tone was comical even as it
was disappointing, what with her seeming lack of response to him.

“You want to study me?” he joked. In return, he could study
her.

“The whole band, really,” she replied. “But I figured, since
you’re the lead singer, I’d have to ask you. You see, my goal is to be able to
travel on the road with a band and document my observations. I was hoping I
could tag along, not only for the rest of this Metalfeed tour, but also your
regular tour that starts next week.”

Cliff puffed up, happy that for once someone had
acknowledged him as the leader of the band instead of Klement. Then: “Did you
talk to Kat about it?” Since Christine worked for Kat, maybe the guitarist had
suggested it.

Christine nodded. “She said she’d love to have me, but that
she doesn’t have the seniority in the band to make that kind of call.”

Well, I’d love to have you, Cliff wanted to say, but he
didn’t want to overplay his hand. “Let me think about it….”

I was delighted when I saw your name, as I always enjoy hearing what you are up to. I love that you know your way around a car...it always irks me that many mechanics take advantage of many females' ignorance and add that "ovary surcharge". Good luck on the tour (and sorry to be late greeting you!

Graphics by Crystal

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About Me

I have always been an eclectic reader but I am not terribly enamored of horror, history or political tomes. It has long been a habit of mine to mark typos in the books I have read and I have taken various writing and editing classes to hone my skills and have now been editing various genres for several years. I love animals although we are temporarily without a fur-person to share our lives and I enjoy gardening but am not crazy about the pests that I encounter. I have a bad habit of trying to learn new crafts but unfortunately don't always finish making the projects.

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